Best Man
by trufflemores
Summary: 3.17. On the day of their wedding, Barry and Iris both cry. Cisco is a Good Best Man.


**Author's Notes** : Shamelessly used Tommy Merlyn's "my best friend in life" comment for Cisco's toast. Enjoy!

"Barry, buddy," Cisco says, "it's six in the morning."

Hunched over on Cisco's couch with his face buried in a gray hoodie, Barry doesn't respond. Cisco sighs and wraps his hands under Barry's arms, shaking him from side-to-side slowly. "If you cancel the wedding, I'm gonna be pissed. I was promised cake. And a dance. I don't get my cake and dance, it's gonna be your ass on the line."

Barry sniffs, a watery laugh slipping past his hold when Cisco tickles him. "You're such a dick," he grunts into the fabric, tucking his arms close to his chest to evade.

Cisco gives an almighty tug and succeeds in lifting Barry half an inch. Damn speedster bulk. "C'mon. You've gotta shower. No one wants to stand next to a smelly groom."

 _Groom_ turns out to be the wrong word, as Barry's shoulders quiver and "Oh, no, no, no," but too late.

He's sobbing and Cisco sighs loudly and pulls out his phone, putting Caitlin on speaker. "Help," he begs.

"It's six in the morning," she yawns.

But because she's a good person, she stays on the line, and offers nothing in the way of direct advice but takes the bulk of the burden off Cisco's shoulders.

Twenty minutes later, Barry has stopped crying long enough to shower, looking slightly dazed as he sits at the table eating a bowl of Cinnamon Toast Crunch that Cisco put in front of him. _When it doubt: food._

Uncharacteristically entranced with basketball, Cisco does a blow-by-blow recitation of every major college game he can find on his phone's sports' feed, determined to keep the water works _off_ until _at least_ Barry's in a suit. If he cries then, well, Cisco Tried.

The only reason he's not with Iris right now is sheer nerves. He showed up at Cisco's place around midnight literally sparking with anxiety, because "Oh my _God_ I'm getting _married_ ," and they spent the next four hours bro'ing it out with an entire box of microwaveable popcorn and Mario Kart. They've both been up too long and Cisco knows that it's the main reason Barry's emotional control is at a record negative number. Heck, he gets a little glassy-eyed just thinking about the flowers and vows and the fact that his best friends are getting married.

It helps to focus on the cake and dance. He grins at the thought, shooting off a text to Cindy to make sure they're still good, and she sends him a lipstick kiss which he rightfully translates to mean "Awesomesauce" and beams for ten minutes.

Then Barry's phone rings, and they both flinch, Barry Speed-fishing it out of his pocket and answering before the second ring. "Iris, hey," he says, _melting_ affection, and Cisco gives him the room and focuses on getting suited up.

He would love to wear the Vibe suit – he's pretty sure Barry would even let him – but there's the whole "most of the attendees aren't actually familiar with the whole superhero song-and-dance, so we should probably keep that on the DL" problem. So he puts on a regular suit like a good best man – _isn't that an oxymoron?_ Caitlin asked over breakfast, to which Cisco scoffed and nearly choked on his coffee – and braces himself for Round Three.

Or six, or nine, or twelve. He lost count.

He walks into the kitchen looking like a champ and finds his girlfriend giving Barry a buck-up talk, kicking her feet lightly as she sits on the counter. "This is the love of your life," she says, and Barry nods continuously, accepting all of it at face value. "You want to get married."

 _I want to get married,_ Barry echoes in a nod, taking a big bite from bowl three of Cinnamon Toast Crunch. _This is the love of my life._

"You didn't tell me the boyf was here," Cindy says, shooting Cisco a look, and Cisco blushes.

"He's not – we're not – he's getting _married._ "

Cindy rolls her eyes and hops off the counter, grabbing him by the front of his suit and kissing him soundly. "I like the new kicks," she says, tapping one of his shoes with her own. He blinks, head still buzzing a little, and reboots for eight seconds before anything will come of out his mouth.

"I like your … kicks," he echoes lamely, tapping her shoes back. He yelps when she leans backward into a breach, dragging him with her, and they land on the grass outside the city in a dewy morning heap. "How do you do that without looking?" he asks, awed, and then his mouth is preoccupied kissing hers which, again: Awesomesauce.

It's eight-thirty by the time they pop back into the apartment, and Cisco watches Barry shake out the last of the formerly full box of Cinnamon Toast Crunch into his bowl. _Thanks, pal,_ he thinks, but in his magnanimous euphoria he simply clasps Barry on the shoulder. Barry sits back seconds later, bowl empty, and rests a satisfied hand on his own stomach. Walking on cloud nine and eggshells is a thrilling adventure for Cisco, like cradling a very delicate baby bird between his fingers. Putting his opposite hand on Barry's other shoulder, he cajoles, "Know who'll be really happy to see you? Joe."

It seems to soften some of the edges of Barry's anxiety, causing a visible drop in the tension surrounding his Speed aura. (Cindy thinks he's calling bullshit, but he doesn't "hear" speedsters like she does, so maybe it's a blind-versus-mute quandary. According to her, Barry is so loud she can't tell if he's alone, and Cisco runs into a similar problem deciding if he's solo or with Friend when he Flashes back into the cortex.)

Which is how they end up, ready to go, at Joe's house within ten minutes, Barry skating to a halt in the living room six seconds after Cisco and Cindy step through the breach. Unfortunately, his momentum is such that he doesn't stop, promptly crashing into a pajamaed Wally. "Ow," Wally greets, Joe helpfully snagging Barry by the back of his shirt and tugging him to his feet. "Good morning to you too."

"Hey, Bar," Joe says, straightening his jacket unconsciously. "You eat? I'm making breakfast."

Barry sniffs the air once thoughtfully and smiles. "You know I can never say no to your pancakes," he beams.

Wally Flashes to his feet and elbows him playfully in the ribs. "Hands off my hotcakes."

Cisco snags a bite of a pancake on the counter and hums. "Joe, you missed your calling."

"Like hell I did," Joe says, letting Barry go with a ruffle to his hair.

Jesse, yawning, saunters downstairs as they're plowing through the third pound of pancake mix. At the sight, she brightens visibly – _think crackling ice,_ Cindy described; _a snapping fire_ , at Wally; and _space,_ at Barry, something too huge to sound like anything, an all-consuming white noise. Cisco's own attempts at description are somewhat less eloquent: Jesse is blue and purple, Wally is orange and red, and Barry is a burnishing gold. Both speedsters relax when Jesse joins them, Wally smiling up at her as she loops her arms around his shoulders. "Good morning," she greets, kissing him. Sliding into his lap, she steals the latest batch of pancakes from his plate; he growls in mock remonstrance but doesn't fight her when Joe whips up more.

With second breakfast under his belt, Barry is back to his usual charming self, Flashing through the dishes and snagging a second hug from Joe when he slows down. The kitchen is crowded with two speedsters, two Vibers – _Charmers_ , Cindy retorts with a raised eyebrow – and one Dad-of-the-Year, but it feels at capacity, exactly as full as it should be. It doesn't take long for Jesse and Wally to get ready, and Barry's face pales a little when he sees them, but he keeps up a smile.

It's Happening when Joe finally walks downstairs, and Wally salutes before Jesse and he take off to check on Iris. Barry's fingers twitch like he might join them, and Cisco thinks it would be good for him, but he stays. Joe's presence at least has a quelling effect on his anxiety, like an arm around his shoulders, and even though Barry loosens the top button of his shirt and tugs compulsively at his collar, he still listens intently when Joe talks.

Ten AM finds them ready and raring, and it's fully three hours before the festivities, ensuring none of the non-super Team is at the venue when Cisco, Cindy, and Joe step through the breach. Barry is already there, pacing a hole into the floor, and Cisco catches him by the shoulders before he can set his shoes on fire.

"Love of your life," he reminds. Barry nods, yeah-no-I-get-it-I-wanna-do-this. Then he Flashes them off, reappearing in a field four miles out and hugging Cisco tight enough to break. "Pal," he wheezes, and Barry loosens his grip but does not let go. Sighing, Cisco pats his back. "You can't Flash off during the ceremony," he reminds.

Barry nods again, letting him go and fishing a handkerchief out of his pocket, pressing it to his eyes. "God," he warbles. "It's just – _happening._ "

"That's what happens when you ask someone to marry you," Cisco informs gravely.

Barry huffs, replacing the handkerchief in his pocket a moment later. "Yeah," he agrees, inhaling deeply. "Yeah." Exhaling, he looks around and smiles a little despite himself. "It's so beautiful."

Cisco lets him admire the scenery, knowing he can open a breach in less time than it takes Barry to blink and hop through it back to the main event, but he can't help but agree with Barry: it _is_ beautiful. Worth stopping to smell the flowers.

Just when he's starting to agree a little with Barry that maybe this is too much and they should just call it a day and enjoy it, there's a yellow streak of light on the horizon. It materializes into Wally two seconds later.

He skates to a gentle halt and sets Iris down carefully. She looks radiant even sans her wedding gown, dressed in a flattering yellow dress, and Wally beams proudly and squeezes her shoulder before Flashing off.

Cisco lingers just a moment, trying to be a good Best Man and make sure his bud isn't going to break down without him, but he needn't worry: Barry's smile is warm and so _full_ when he sees her, meeting each other halfway and holding on. "Good morning," he tells her, nuzzling her hair. "I love you."

"Mm, I love you, too," Iris replies, leaning up to kiss him, and Cisco takes that as his cue to hop out, dropping back into a breach and grinning at Cindy.

"He cry?" she asks without spite.

"Nope," Cisco says cheerfully.

And he doesn't – not through the entire ceremony, holding onto Iris' hands as tears stream down her face, her smile glowing – and holds onto his perfect composure right up until the first dance, and then he sways with her and presses his forehead against her shoulder and Cisco doesn't need to see it to know he's crying.

To be fair, even he sheds a few tears. Dancing with Iris as Best Man is one of those cardinal moments in his life where he realizes just how well he choose his friends and how _lucky_ he is to be here for them. He holds in the tears long enough to give a good toast, nothing if not eloquent: "To my best friend in life."

Distinctly blurry-eyed, he's grateful to take over a photobooth with half of the supergang to blow off some emotional steam. There are props, which helps a lot, and soon they're just goofing off for the sake of goofing off. Barry works his way over at some point and snorts when he sees the pile of supergang photos on a nearby table. Then Cisco and Wally drag him into the booth, Jesse and Cindy making room, and somehow they all fit into the frame.

At least they do until the second photo, when Wally trips out of frame. Everyone else is caught mid-laughter.

And laughing until you cry, Cisco is convinced, is truly the very best way to express _joy._


End file.
